Obama: Gulf spill 'echoes 9/11'

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'I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come,' said President Barack Obama in an Oval Office interview Friday.
John Shinkle

Hardening one of his persistent complaints throughout his presidency, Obama expressed frustration with press coverage of his administration’s response, declaring that “the media specifically is demanding things that the public aren’t demanding.” He contended that “the overwhelming majority of the American people” have reasonable expectations.

“What they hope and expect is for the president to do everything that's within his power,” he said. “They don't expect us to be magicians.”

The interview was a rare chance to get a glimpse of how the most-written-about man in the world sees himself. He acknowledged the power of symbolism in his office, but reiterated his distaste for what he has referred to as “method-acting.”

When Simon asked about appealing to public emotion, Obama replied that “part of leadership always involves being able to capture people’s imaginations, their sense of hope, their sense of possibility, being able to move people to do things they didn’t think they could do.”

“The irony of course is, is that the rap on me before I got to office was that that’s all I could do -- right?” he said with a chuckle. “[Y]ou know, ‘The guy gives a great speech, he inspires people, gets them all excited but we don’t know if he can manage and govern.’ So it’s not that I don’t think these issues are important. It’s that there’s a time and a place for these issues. …

“What the public wants to see is us solving this problem. And that may not make for good TV. Me sitting in a meeting with [Energy] Secretary [Steven] Chu and [Gulf national incident commander] Thad Allen and looking over maps and figuring out how boom gets someplace, that’s not something that is high theater. But ultimately that’s going to make the biggest difference in terms of whether or not the Gulf recovers.”

Republicans advocate for small government, but not too small that we can't have corporate bailouts. This disaster was caused by private industry.

The republicans in this region are screaming that they are dying from this ongoing envinonmental catastrophe - all while insisting that the moratorium against offshore drilling be lifted. Government's only role is to see that this "accident" caused by negligence and corporate cost-cutting is paid for by the responsible entity and that adequate oversight of this industry in the future mitigates the chances of a recurrence.

You could not make this stuff up. I can see republican electoral defeat in November from my porch! Last week their cause was to expose Obama for offering Sestak a job. Their only goal is to make him fail. It has backfired bigtime!

if BO was in office during 9/11, he would have met with osama and the taliban, apologized to them for america, offered to pay them for their troubles in attacking the US...who knows maybe there would have even been some fist bumping at the meeting.

if BO was in office during 9/11, he would have met with osama and the taliban, apologized to them for america, offered to pay them for their troubles in attacking the US...who knows maybe there would have even been some fist bumping at the meeting.

Previewing his message for the midterm congressional elections in November, the president said: “[T]he Democrats in Congress have taken tougher votes, have worked harder under more stressful circumstances, than just about any Congress in our memory. And they’ve done a great job and deserve reelection.”

Tougher votes to destroy our economy that resulted in a 10% unemployment rate? Tougher votes to destroy our health care system? Voting against the will of the American people I guess could be considered, "TOUGH" votes.

BLAME the Obama Administration for LETTING THE OIL HIT THE LAND. This is just more evidence of the incompetence or political agenda foot dragging in NOT doing more to prevent the oil for getting to land AND cleaning it up once it gets there. It is too big now for PB to handle along with trying to cap it.

And he said he will use the rest of his presidency to try to put the United States on a course toward a “new way of doing business when it comes to energy.”

Can anyone say "Cap & Trade"? Did Obama intentionally wait 50+ days to get his photo-ops for further his agenda?

We are not frustrated by the "hit that the economy has taken" but by the terrible decisions that our unqualified president has made and his total lack of leadership. The childish and unpresidential blame Bush, blame Bush, blame Bush response was just a sign of weak leadership to come.

One thing for sure, he certainly did not allow the spill to interfere with his vacationS; his golf; his entertainment sessions; his bureaucratic maze that he sent requests from the governors affected; or his NON ACTION for the first seven weeks of the catastrophe!

Team Obama is the most reactive administration -- at least since Jimmy Carter. Once they do act, they normally FIRE; then they GET READY; and finally, after they miss the target, THEY AIM, and BLAME SOMEONE ELSE for their initial FAILURE.

Are you insane and/or on the DNC payroll? You are the epidemic, not the solution. And for CS, stop prevaricating!all

The well is on A FEDERAL LEASE, bonehead And government's PRIMARY purpose is to react to national emergencies and to protect the nation's sovereignty … not to run business or people. This is a free country, in case you have forgotten or have had it washed from your pea.

So somehow the failure of a department within the Obama administration to adaquately regulate a deep off shore drilling platform, within the regulations already on the books, and then to act too slowly in the face of an enviromental disaster equates to a need for cap and trade. Enriching those tied closely to the administration is just a bonus I suppose. Yeah, we understand your priorities Mr. President. This is why so many in your own party would prefer you go golfing or something rather than campaign for them.

Oh, and it was the last congress and Burnanke who brought the economy back from the brink, some of the very same people who took us to the brink in the first place. It's too soon to know for certain whether or not they've also put us in a worse situation, but it's likely.

Too bad for you that a majority of Americans don't believe your version of the facts, the ones that unfolded in front of their very eyes.